Saturday, January 30, 2016

Off Line

Friday, January 15, 2016

Why Bliss Matters

Some teachers warn us not to pay any attention to bliss states, but to move ahead to the next experience, forgetting all bliss that may have come our way previously.

I believe indeed that there are many ways of going up the mountain--some are quiet states of well being and connection to the vastness of the universe. But rapture (bliss) is (I believe) a very important way in itself for those of us fortunate enough to experience it.

Earlier I wrote about how disconnected from the Beloved I felt when bliss waves seemed to vanish from my practice. Then it seemed to return yesterday and also today. I do not see bliss (rapture) as a narcissistic indulgence, but rather as an affirmation of our connection with the cosmic love force of the universe (Kundalini). When rapture enters your consciousness it contributes to the long process of rewiring your nervous system, and that is one of the primary goals of Kundalini itself. To refuse it would be like turning your back on God.

And when it appears (it chooses its own time to manifest) it becomes (I think) your own precious contribution to the love field of the universe. I think that is what we are together striving for, for in that way (among others) we help to create the "divine human" that many have talked about.

The divine human will not be a being who thinks his/her way to salvation. The divine human will indeed have advanced intellectual insights, but that evolved state of consciousness will be felt in every iota of the subtle body and we will all sway together in that indescribable field of love. Each moment of bliss we experience here in the physical/subtle body helps to move all of us forward to that supreme state.

If it can happen to a few, why not to all?

Rapture is simply another name for love, and now lover and Beloved are one.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

When Rapture Falls Away

When Rapture Falls Away

As many of you know, rapture often accompanies Kundalini awakening, sometimes alternating with pain. I have experienced many years of rapture (along with intermittent pain), which was quite strong in the beginning years, and which then began to taper off in intensity and frequency through the following years (since l981). For many of the past several months, I have felt nothing at all in the way of bliss or even the "neutral" flow of the energies within, and feared this loss was a sign of being disconnected from the Beloved. This thought was depressing, even though I knew that such "dry spells" often were part of the process.

So I talked with my friend Andrew Harvey about my concern (he is, in my view, the wisest man on the planet), and he told me not to worry about this apparent loss, for I was now entering a kind of "post rapture" state, in which the primary aspect was quiet contentment and a feeling of being in harmony with the world. I was quite relieved to learn this, and so was quickly reconciled to this new state of awareness.

Then, today, quite unexpectedly, I found myself feeling sweet energies flowing when I did my simple body movements. As always, I was instinctively circling my hands a few inches from the body and the very soft, very gentle energy flows seemed to come from touching the auric (subtle) body. Last night on his webinar Andrew quoted from the Gospel of Thomas: "The inside shall be as the outside, and the outside shall be as the inside." For me, this is a perfect description of feeling the energies through the subtle body. In that state, we seem to feel on both levels--physical and spiritual. It is the perfect combination of "inner" and "outer" and is, I believe, an essential part of our progress toward becoming a "divinized" human.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

St. Patrick--"The Cry of the Deer"--poem

The Cry of the Deer(Faedh Fiada)

At Tara today in this fateful hour
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And fire with all the strength it hath,
And lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the winds with their swiftness along their path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the earth with its starkness
All these I place,
By God's almighty help and grace,
Between myself and the powers of darkness.

- St. Patrick(Version by Madeline L'Engle)

I have always felt a special connection to Ireland, partly because I am of "Scotch-Irish" ancestry and also because I was born on St.Patrick's Day and that fact pointed me in the direction of Ireland early in my life. This poem has a special appeal since it is about nature, and also because it is set at Tara, one of the great mystical centers of Ireland, a place sacred to the Great Mother before it was taken over by the patriarchy and used as the place where the ancient kings were crowned. When I visited the site of Tara, I could distinctly feel the sweet earth energies streaming from the ground. Thus it is a center where Kundalini flows freely from below, and reminds us that Kundalini is the cosmic force that propels the universe itself. When we are in sync, we can experience these energies as states of ecstatic consciousness.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Kabir--"To Be a Slave of that Intensity"--poem

Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into experience while you are alive!
Think. . .and think. . .while you are alive.
What you call “salvation’ belongs to the time before death.

If you don’t break your ropes while you’re alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?

The idea that the soul will join with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten--
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the City ofDeath.
If you make love with the divine now, in the next life youwill have the face of satisfied desire.

So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,Believe in the Great Sound!

Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for, it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest thatdoes all the work.
Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.

- Kabir(version by Robert Bly)

I dearly love this poem by Kabir. It expresses fully and persuasively the need to desire, long for, the Beloved to enter our lives, even though that longing will make of us a slave of our own passions. To long for divine connection is much like longing for a special love relationship. At some stages, we can only hope that our desire for union will be fulfilled. But--if we ignore our inner needs, we will never fulfill our dreams.

This site is dedicated to Patricia Lay-Dorsey, beloved friend, mentor, artist, and activist, who has given her life to making this world a better place. Click here to see Patricia's photographs. It was Patricia's photos that illustrated my blog from its beginnings through December 2006. From January 2007 through the present, the photos are my own unless otherwise noted.